Inspired

Bond Bryan are delighted that planning permission has been granted for the redevelopment of Aston Fire Station.

Bond Bryan worked closely with the Fire Service and consultants to develop a functionally-robust, but aspirational, design proposal which meets the needs of the end-users’ experience of the building, whilst retaining the building’s heritage and providing a strong community focus.

The redevelopment comprises a new-build extension which better accommodates modern welfare facilities for the fire service – sympathetically connected to the existing Grade 2 listed building by a double-height glazed link and offering views of the Fire Service in operation. The Eastern House will include a community library and reception area with the adjacent appliance bay and pole-drop being retained as a heritage asset with further community/heritage use on the upper floors. The existing office building, to the rear of the site, will be demolished to create a large training yard, car park and a new external heritage store.

Construction on site is planned to commence in June 2018 with a completion date of June 2019.

Last week, Bond Bryan Project Architect, Tomasz Romaniewicz, attended the Leeds Beckett University’s ‘Speed Dating – Work Placement’ scheme.

The scheme, in its fifth year, gives undergraduate architecture students the opportunity of meeting with professionals in a ‘speed-dating’/networking environment and listen to presentations from a selection of practice professionals.

The students are then offered a four-day ‘taster’, within an architectural practice, which helps to develop students’ understanding of the importance of practice and professionalism within the work environment.

Bond Bryan’s Tomasz added: “I always enjoy sharing my experiences with students. This is a great scheme as it gives students hands-on experience whilst developing their employability skills.”

We look forward to welcoming our first two students this week.

Each year, Bond Bryan adopts a “charity of the year” programme to raise additional funds for those concerned. This year, Bond Bryan Sheffield are delighted to be supporting Museums Sheffield.

Museums Sheffield is the charity responsible for three of the city’s museums and galleries: Millennium Gallery, Weston Park Museum and Graves Gallery. They work hard to retain Sheffield’s identity and support the city through a whole host of exhibitions, workshops, creative sessions and events – bringing people together, sparking community pride and creating a more vibrant place where we all want to live and work.

Bond Bryan will be supporting Museums Sheffield with their quest to ensure that everyone in Sheffield and the city region has access to a consistent and high quality arts and cultural learning experience. They, like us, are committed to inspiring the next generation of artists, curators, collectors and visitors, using Sheffield’s rich collections to spark curiosity and imagination through community cohesion.

For more information on Museums Sheffield, please visit their website here.

We are extremely pleased to welcome Zubin Masters and Matt Hutton to the Bond Bryan Board of Directors.

Zubin is a long-serving member of the Bond Bryan team and has helped to shape all parts of our business since joining our Sheffield base in 2004 – before relocating to our Westerham Studio in 2009. Zubin’s consistent goal is to delight each client with a truly creative solution whilst, at the same time, leading and inspiring the design team to deliver quality throughout every stage of the project. Having co-managed the Westerham Studio for the past eight years, first as an Associate and then as Associate Director, his leadership skills, desire for continuous improvement and passion for design, have had a significant and positive effect on our architectural practice.

Matt joined Bond Bryan’s Sheffield Studio in 2003 as a trainee architect and is now one of our leading designers. He has led a number of multi-award-winning projects at Bond Bryan including: The University of Sheffield’s Humanities Research Institute, Sheffield Hallam University’s Charles Street Building and The David Hockney Building for Bradford College. Going forward, Matt will play a leading role in all aspects of Bond Bryan’s design practice – from concept through to the detailed design stage.

Managing Director, Jonathan Herbert, said: “We are delighted to have both Zubin and Matt as Directors and expect that they will be brilliant additions to our Board!”

After ten years of excellent service, Bond Bryan Director Stewart Paine has retired. During that period, he established and co-led Bond Bryan’s Westerham Studio (our first base in the South East); today Westerham, together with our London Studio, accommodates our thriving Southern practice: a real testament to Stewart’s legacy.

Managing Director, Jonathan Herbert, said: “Stewart retires at the end of a record year for Bond Bryan’s Southern operation. On behalf of the whole team at Bond Bryan, I should place on record our collective appreciation for all the great work that Stewart has done for our practice over the past ten years. We simply would not be in such an excellent position without his guidance and encouragement.”

We all enjoyed Stewart’s pre-Christmas send-off party which was preceeded by presentations and a wonderful thankyou speech from the great man himself. Stewart, a genuine people person, known for his calm manner and unfailing sense of humour, will be missed – but we look forward to him visiting us very soon!

Congratulations to Usman Hussain for sucessfully passing his MCIAT – qualifying as a Chartered Architectural Technologist.

Geoff Halliwell, Director, commented:”Usman joined the practice in 2015 and is a key member of our technical team. This qualification recognises both Usman’s knowledge of the construction industry process and his professional experience in designing, developing, and managing projects.”

Best wishes from everyone at Bond Bryan!

After almost 16 years at Bond Bryan, Director Darren Southgate is moving on at the end of 2017. Throughout his time with us, Darren has worked tirelessly – displaying huge energy and focus; he joined us as a project architect in 2002 and enjoyed a rapid rise through the ranks before becoming a Main Board Director in 2012.

He has been a highly-effective account manager for a number of important blue-chip clients and worked on a range of prestigious projects including the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and the multi-award-winning Factory 2050 – both within Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District.

Darren now wishes to pour his time and energy into a diverse range of entrepreneurial and volunteering interests, a number of which sit outside of Bond Bryan Architects’ business objectives. Managing Director Jonathan Herbert said “Darren is a talented individual who has the ability to be effective across a wide range of undertakings; the team here would like to thank him for his service and offer their very best wishes for a successful future.”

The University of Kent (UoK) – which is branded as the UK’s European University – has commissioned a new School of Economics, designed by Bond Bryan Architects, which achieved planning consent in August 2017.

This is a collaborative scheme with Willmott Dixon Construction and is part of UoK’s continued investment into its Canterbury Campus Masterplan and part of a new Business Hub focusing on Economics, Business, Maths and Statistics & Actuarial Science.
 
This University is one of the country’s leading academic institutions with strong bilateral links with Europe. They are producing world-class research and leading the way in many fields of study. The development proposals seek to provide a new three-storey building for the School of Economics – including shared teaching and amenity facilities with associated landscaping and cycle stores.  The building will be naturally ventilated and is a hybrid of steel frame and cross-laminated timber designed by structural engineers Engenuiti. 
 
The design of the exterior facades of the School of Economics building aims to be timeless – through the juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary materials; the architectural language and the palette of materials, chosen for the building, is one of simplicity and elegance.
 
Adrian Stubbs, Lead Architect on the project, commented: “The design aims to create an economic, sustainable and flexible solution that will, nevertheless, create a distinctive, high quality addition to the campus that reflects the importance of the subject and the confidence of the University for the future.”.
 
Work will begin on site in January 2018 with doors opening to students in September 2019.

Bond Bryan Architects are working with the RNN Group and contractor, Willmott Dixon to deliver a new university-level centre in Rotherham.

The centre, which is scheduled for completion during autumn 2018, is set to increase higher-level training opportunities for learners and employers, offering students and businesses greater access to Higher Education.

Bond Bryan Associate and Project Architect, John Hope explained: “Our proposed design is founded on the vision of creating a building that encourages and supports innovative forms of collaborative working and learning. It is envisaged that this will increasingly require more adaptive and flexible spaces that offer a range of potential working, meeting and learning environments – ranging from structured group discussions and facilitated presentation areas, through to more informal self-study areas. A key element of the building proposal has, therefore, been to develop a concept that offers the ability to create a diverse mix of spaces – from large, open-plan areas to more cellular classrooms – all supported by specialist teaching zones.

The response has been to create a simple L-shaped building plan that makes maximum use of the site’s public frontages to the north and east whilst creating a more enclosed social space to the south. Atriums have been cut into this simple form at the intersection of the L, not only enabling daylight to penetrate the floor plates, but, crucially, allowing views across the building, visually linking the activities on the different floors and creating a range of spaces – from contained single-storey spaces through to double- and triple-height open-plan spaces where necessary.

Our intention is to take reference from the surrounding buildings in form and colour, but to create a modern contemporary building that provides a high-quality statement for the College. A combination of a strong and simple palette of materials offers an efficient solution that draws upon the historic precedents set by the rich heritage provided by the context. However, careful consideration of the fenestration/cladding pattern, texture and colour of the design, reinterprets the traditional forms – creating a welcoming and exciting building that reflects the aspirations of the College.”

John Connolly, chief executive of RNN Group – which is the parent organisation for Rotherham College and the University Centre, Rotherham – said: “We are delighted to have taken a big step forward in delivering this fantastic project, which will offer so much to our region’s students and employers.”

On Saturday, BBA “joined forces” with MLM Group to take part in the Commando Series 11/11 for the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund; the 6km, 21-obstacle race was extremely muddy and everyone had frequent opportunities to become immersed in ice cold water – It was a good test of fitness, team work and was intensely character-building!

Well done to all involved!